Then in this case you do not need to rely on memory but rather review video as you drive to crash site

Hopefully your video still is send ing out signal, switch to very high gain antenna for rx for video, and use that to find plane easy, even if it is in a tree you will be able to locate it.

Start with review video from memory, then review recorded ground station video, go to google earth and study that area , (the small lake would be reference point), once close to,lake simple use directional video rx antenna to locate plane

Invest in ground video recorder is a lesson learned here

Also make a ground station that is portable enough, for also a fox hunt or hunt in the woods to locate the plane using video to find it

The propeller also can be used as sound to help locate plane when you get used to it

Then in this case you do not need to rely on memory but rather review video as you drive to crash site

Hopefully your video still is send ing out signal, switch to very high gain antenna for rx for video, and use that to find plane easy, even if it is in a tree you will be able to locate it.

Start with review video from memory, then review recorded ground station video, go to google earth and study that area , (the small lake would be reference point), once close to,lake simple use directional video rx antenna to locate plane

Invest in ground video recorder is a lesson learned here

Also make a ground station that is portable enough, for also a fox hunt or hunt in the woods to locate the plane using video to find it

The propeller also can be used as sound to help locate plane when you get used to it

Glad you got your plane back

thanks David, nice to hear some positive remarks from you, I appreciate the advice.. I have a DV cam and I just did not record because I am dumb. Pretty sure I lost video abruptly because the vTX blew out or at least disconnected after the fail safe jerked it down... need more than hot glue next time

I am fully aware of all the searching techniques and the preventative measures for downed aircrafts. I was just stupid on this flight. Had I been recording this thread wouldn't exist more than likely.

@rarara I'm kicking myself for not recording the hike up there. at the base of the mountain we hit some pretty nasty roads and were pretty much set that we were going on a hike with no plane found.. We weren't sure we would even make it to the lakes....We decided even if it was 20 feet away we might not be able to see it in the brush... luckily it was pretty clear below the trees where it landed.

also... lol somebody doesn't care about fail safe... that's another thing I will do next time... a little up elevator and maybe it would have lived!?

Listen guys - its simple. I don't even post my best (risky) stuff bc I've seen what the peanut gallery does to people that push hard or fly "where they aren't supposed to" - LOL. But there are a LOT of take-aways to learn here, too many to list really.

At any rate - if you use GoogleEarth to plan your flights - this would have never happened bc you would have seen the potential clipping points before hand. You saw the vertical ridges - but you missed that horizontal one and it chopped you up. The things I posted AFTER your crash is the same thing that I do BEFORE I launch - especially if I've pushing past 3 miles - and/or will be ridge-running or in an environment that makes recovery a challenge.

If you wanna just be "okay" at this stuff... copy someone's setup and go fly. There is lots of fun to be had out there, and in fact - this kinda flying is less stressful.

But if you wanna be REALLY good - pre-flight is just as important - pre-flight and flight planning make it that much better.

Good thing that you were basically able to go right to the rig - I studied the terrain about an hour - the only reason I would have been further off if is

1) you gave me a bad launch coordinates
2) your "ridge-running" was at high altitude - but even then a few hundred yards is what I call pinpoint accuracy when adding in the unknowns (ACTUAL trajectory when the lights went out)

Let this be a lesson to you guys how quickly things can go wrong - fun 1 second is disaster the next. You had to worry about trees - I have to worry about skyscrapers. I HAVE to be right or I'm gonna be on the news wearing orange.... for those reasons I plan a whole lot harder than most - and do weird things to give me a disadvantage when I train just to see how well I can do when the odds are against me.

Get VERY familiar w/ google earth and the many nav/terrain tools out there. USE THE RESOURCES YOU HAVE - they are free so why not??? As far as the hunt for it.... it is a lesson in humility. Don't give up on your plane when it's retrievable.

OH - and your PHONE NUMBER on the plane is mission-critical equipment in my world view.

I know man... I messed up pretty bad. You can bet I'll be staring at google earth for hours before my next flight like this and recording and checking that im recording 100 times... Might even pay attention to accessibility on google earth if something does go wrong.. I really don't want to hassle with a RTH device... I'll think about it though for next the next plane... klique has pretty good things to say about that ruby.

I don't fly with autopilots - and I'll maintain that fact drives how hard I plan. I've seen "I'll just engage RTH" posted so many times that I'm sick of it. Having no RTH drives EVERYTHING else that I do. From choosing my flying sites - the missions I wanna do - how I build a harness - everything. I know that I get 1 shot when I push hard - so I think my rigs are just that much better knowing this fact.

But if you want an AP go for it - I've seen some good examples of them working well - just not my cup of tea. Nothing flies my planes but me.

[QUOTE=dr_patso;22944229]thanks David, nice to hear some positive remarks from you, I appreciate the advice.. I have a DV cam and I just did not record because I am dumb. Pretty sure I lost video abruptly because the vTX blew out or at least disconnected after the fail safe jerked it down... need more than hot glue next time

I am fully aware of all the searching techniques and the preventative measures for downed aircrafts. I was just stupid on this flight. Had I been recording this thread wouldn't exist more than likely.

QUOTE]

Sorry if any previous remarks from me were taken in the wrong way, I was just trying to help, and maybe sounded like I was rude or of no help.

I too lost a plane and for a few moments felt,lost or worried were I was and the depth of snow I was trying to walk,througheek: up to my waste in snow looking for a plane in the middle,of nowhere

Did find it useing methods as I last described and made it back to the car, all by myself. I was also,worried about hunters thinking I was a dear or getting shot as an example

Once lost my multiplex fox fpv not at all far away like no more than 1/4 mile away and spent hours looking for it without directional antenna but only prerecord video , never found that plane and looked for hours.

Sorry if my first remarks sounded off or rude as they were not meant to be

I remember about 5 years back when i was getting started in helis. I came across a post from a flyer that lost his trex in a lake. That post generated hundreds of pages and dozens of volunteers to go looking for it. At one point, a fellow rc'r nearby used his own time and resources to cart diving equipment to the lake to look for the helicopter.

To the best of my knowledge, they never did find it, which just makes this thread beyond crazy. The forensic precision in Sentry's overview was just astonishing to read. It was like watching an episode of CSI!

I'm so glad you were able to recover your rig, and I need to think long and hard about which one of my friends packs in case I ever find myself in that position.